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The 9 best Vegetarian Restaurants in Kingston

Finding vegetarian restaurants in Kingston isn’t difficult. Despite being a relatively new concept to the Western world, raw food diets have been around in Jamaica for years. Rastafarian Ital cooking is widely available and there’s enough fabulous fruits and vegetables to keep even the fussiest vegetarian happy. Most of the restaurants below are hidden in corners of carparks or tucked away down quiet streets. Even if you’re not vegetarian and you just feel like breaking up the week with some meat free treats, the following places will keep you coming back for more. Here are the 9 best vegetarian restaurants in Kingston:

1. Veggie Meals on Wheels

Veggie Meals on Wheels

This ‘No bone zone’ is worth heading downtown to seek out and is without a doubt one of my Kingston faves. Celebrating everything ital , there’s a wide selection of vegan treats to keep yuh belly full. You can even get jerk here – jerk tofu that is and it tastes good! If you don’t have room for pudding – be sure to take a couple of ragamuffins home (the cake variety). There’s even vinyl Thursdays – so you get your groove on as you feast. Tucked away right in the far corner of Regal Plaza, Cross Roads. Look out for the L P Azar Ltd store and the back of Nuttall Memorial Hospital and you’re in the right place.

2. Tehuti Cafe

Eat and drink guilt free as recipes are fundamentally raw and vegan. A variety of health products, from nuts to nut milk bags are available, as the Cafe seeks to bring some of the best products from nature, to you the consumer, with your health in mind. With a qualified nutritionist in house clarifications and consultations are easily accessible. Try the curried coconut pasta, brazil nut cheese pate, jerk ackee, avocado and shredded beet.

3. Kushite’s Vegetable Cuisine

Polenta treats

Kushite’s is labelled as fine dining Jamaican vegetarian and deservedly so. The Kushtafari culinary team perform culinary magic; and what sorcery there is going on in their kitchen. Dishes you’ll be unlikely to find anywhere else in Jamaica, including, mushroom sushi, ackee ravioli, ackee polenta and pumpkin rundown (a take on the mackerel classic) . If you’re in need of a serious health reboot, opt for one of their famous revitalising green juices – it’s goodness in a glass.

4. Earls Juice Garden

Green juice goodness

This long standing Kingston juice bar is run by husband and wife team Earl and Sherrill Chong,who have been serving up tasty lunches and epic juices the last 20 years. You’ll find over thirty types of juice served from pumpkin and chia seed to jackfruit and tamarind. The couple also offer health consultations so you if you’re feeling under the weather, likely they’ll be able to recommend a natural remedy to have you back on track.

6. Just Salads

Just Salads

This probably isn’t an obvious place to choose, hidden at the bottom of Phoenix Avenue in Toma Place (next to Andrews Hospital) it really does feel like a secret little space, well on a Saturday afternoon that is. It can get super busy here during weekday lunchtimes. There’s no inside seating and whilst I’m normally a sucker for AC, here the shaded, tropical garden provides a perfect, cool spot to relax. Despite its name Just Salads isn’t strictly a vegetarian restaurant, I’ve included it because they make awesome salads and veggie soups. Salads come with generous side of polenta, sweet potato or pasta and make sure you try their fresh guava juice, it’s delicious.

7. New Leaf Vegetarian

New Leaf Vegetarian Restaurant

It’s easy to miss this Lanes Plaza gem but it’s conveniently located near Matildas Corner and can be easily access via Old Hope road and Barbican road. There are daily specials which include things like pumpkin, lentil and callaloo casserole and navy bean and avocado wraps. There’s even an ackee bammy pizza – which is probably the most Jamaican pizza you will find anywhere! You can wash your food down with one of their live juices, your body will thank you for their cleansing cocktail. The homemade carrot cake is also worth a mention. If you’re skipping lunch altogether – they do awesome vegan protein shakes.

8. Ashanti Oasis Vegetarian Restaurant

Ital Stew

Ashanti used to be a lunch, early dinner only operation but due to popular demand it’s now open until 11pm for dinner on Friday and Saturdays. It’s a bit of a Kingston lunch institution and for good reason. They make some pretty special veggie dishes including, Ital stew, sautéed ackee and escoveitch tofu. You can also get real homemade Jamaican juices here – such as sorrel (up to you if you take home and add some rum) and guava turmeric . They also offer takeouts and they’ll even deliver right to your front door, so you can impress your friends with your Ital stew. There’s also occasional music sessions, check their Facebook page for listings.